Discovering the Path to True Greatness Through Humility and Service
Matthew 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Our Lord makes it clear that we are not to exercise dominion over those to whom we are called to minister. When we with intentional effort make ourselves the authoritative figure over others, we exalt ourselves in such a way that we set ourselves up for a lesson of humility from the Lord. It is pride which goeth before the fall! And yet, how quickly do we forget this important truth when we are blinded by our own conceit!
However, we are expected by our Lord to keep our hearts in check so as to keep this from happening. As a matter of fact, we are given the roadmap to greatness in our text. Christ says plainly, “…but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;” It is amazing how difficult it becomes for one who has been promoted by God to receive the glory for such a promotion. God set it up that way! With God, our way up is really down.
If we really want to know what it is to be great in the Kingdom of God, then we are to do as Christ; to make ourselves of no reputation. We are to take time out of our busy schedules to minister to those who would never be able to return the favor. We are to help those who will never advance our causes or promote our agendas. We are to give to those who will never be able to declare to the entire world our level of commitment to Christ and His bride.
If we’re not careful, we as ministers will spend more of our time promoting ourselves than we will promoting Christ. I am not trying to be critical; I’m simply stating the truth. I truly believe that when a leader in the church has a need to be recognized as the authority, it is because of a fear to appear weak. However, when we function in the spirit of humility with a meek and gentle spirit, we are then functioning at the highest level of being controlled by the Sprit of God.
To think that humility is a sign of weakness is only half true; the other half of the story is that when we are made weak, then Christ is made strong on our behalf! It is truly at our weakest that He is at His strongest in our lives. Therefore, we must learn to operate as servants of the Most High God, making ourselves available to the body of Christ as they have great need for those who will serve.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Our Lord makes it clear that we are not to exercise dominion over those to whom we are called to minister. When we with intentional effort make ourselves the authoritative figure over others, we exalt ourselves in such a way that we set ourselves up for a lesson of humility from the Lord. It is pride which goeth before the fall! And yet, how quickly do we forget this important truth when we are blinded by our own conceit!
However, we are expected by our Lord to keep our hearts in check so as to keep this from happening. As a matter of fact, we are given the roadmap to greatness in our text. Christ says plainly, “…but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;” It is amazing how difficult it becomes for one who has been promoted by God to receive the glory for such a promotion. God set it up that way! With God, our way up is really down.
If we really want to know what it is to be great in the Kingdom of God, then we are to do as Christ; to make ourselves of no reputation. We are to take time out of our busy schedules to minister to those who would never be able to return the favor. We are to help those who will never advance our causes or promote our agendas. We are to give to those who will never be able to declare to the entire world our level of commitment to Christ and His bride.
If we’re not careful, we as ministers will spend more of our time promoting ourselves than we will promoting Christ. I am not trying to be critical; I’m simply stating the truth. I truly believe that when a leader in the church has a need to be recognized as the authority, it is because of a fear to appear weak. However, when we function in the spirit of humility with a meek and gentle spirit, we are then functioning at the highest level of being controlled by the Sprit of God.
To think that humility is a sign of weakness is only half true; the other half of the story is that when we are made weak, then Christ is made strong on our behalf! It is truly at our weakest that He is at His strongest in our lives. Therefore, we must learn to operate as servants of the Most High God, making ourselves available to the body of Christ as they have great need for those who will serve.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill